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Lyft unveils Happy Hour: up to 50% discount on rides during slow times

By Salvador Rodriguez

1:00 PM EDT, March 18, 2014

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Lyft on Tuesday announced Happy Hour, a feature that will give users discounts of up to 50% on rides during slow business hours on the ridesharing service.

The San Francisco company said Happy Hour discounts will range from 10% to 50%. The app will notify users if it is Happy Hour when they open the app.

"We created Happy Hour as a straightforward way to keep Lyft busier for drivers and more affordable for passengers," Lyft said in a statement. "For instance, a driver who would normally have one ride per hour at $12 may now see two or more rides per hour at $9."

Lyft does the opposite of Happy Hour during busy times with a feature called Prime Time, which charges users extra as a tip for their drivers.

The new Happy Hour feature may help Lyft better compete with rival Uber, which dropped the prices of its UberX service this year.

Lyft's announcement also comes shortly after rival Sidecar changed its pricing structure to that of a marketplace, allowing riders to choose their drivers based on who offers the best price and other factors.